1. Technical Field
The present invention relates to an ink cartridge and an ink cartridge mount/demount mechanism which are configured such that a socket portion provided in the ink cartridge is detachably fitted to a joint portion provided in a printing machine.
2. Related Art
Generally, an inkjet printing machine employing an inkjet method uses multiple ink cartridges respectively storing inks of colors such for example as yellow (Y), magenta (M), cyan (C), and black (K).
A socket portion provided in each of the ink cartridges is detachably fitted to a joint portion provided in the inkjet printing machine and the ink in the ink cartridge is thereby supplied from the socket portion to the inkjet printing machine via the joint portion.
Moreover, the inkjet printing machine can perform color printing of images and characters on paper sheets by supplying the inks from the ink cartridges of the respective colors to inkjet heads provided for the respective ink colors and by ejecting the inks of the respective colors to the paper sheets from the inkjet heads of the respective colors. The inkjet printing machine is thus widely used as a printing machine for home and business use. Moreover, the inkjet printing machine is configured to perform monochrome printing by using only the ink of one color of black (K).
Along with recent increase in the speed of printing on paper sheets and the sizes of images, the amounts of inks consumed in the inkjet printing machine have increased.
In order to increase the amount of ink supplied from the ink cartridge to the inkjet printing machine (hereafter, simply referred to as printing machine), the applicant has proposed before an ink cartridge mount/demount mechanism which can detachably attach an ink cartridge to a printing machine, the ink cartridge including an ink supply port which is used to supply ink to the printing machine and which is formed to have a diameter larger than that of an insertion shaft provided to the printing machine (see Japanese Patent Application Publication No. 2010-69806).
Although illustration herein is omitted, in the ink cartridge mount/demount mechanism described above, the ink cartridge is detachably connected to a joint portion provided in the printing machine, in a substantially horizontal direction.
The ink cartridge described above includes a socket portion configured to be detachably fitted to the joint portion in the printing machine and an ink storage container storing the ink is attached to a rear end of the socket portion.
In the socket portion of the ink cartridge, the ink supply port is opened on the distal end side of a socket body and the socket body is provided with an inside plug movable relative to the ink supply port in front-rear directions.
In the socket body, an O-ring is fitted between the ink supply port and a distal end circular protruding portion formed in the inside plug. The inside plug to which the O-ring is fitted is moved forward to the ink supply port and thereby prevents leakage of the ink from the ink cartridge not in use.
In the joint portion in the printing machine, an insertion shaft to be inserted into and removed from the ink supply port of the socket body is formed in a center portion of the joint body integrally with the joint body. The insertion shaft has a diameter smaller than the hole diameter of the ink supply port. In addition, an ink flow-in passage allowing the ink to flow from the ink cartridge is formed around the insertion shaft.
In the joint portion main body, an ink leakage preventing member is slidably fitted to the insertion shaft. When the insertion shaft is inserted to the ink supply port, the ink leakage preventing member is moved forward in the insertion direction in the joint body to prevent leakage of the ink having flowed into the joint body by spring force.
When the ink cartridge is connected to the printing machine, the insertion shaft formed in the center portion of the joint body is inserted into the ink supply port of the socket body and pushes and moves the inside plug toward an opposite side of the socket body from the ink supply port side.
With the inside plug pushed, an ink flow-out passage through which the ink flows toward the ink supply port is formed in the socket body. Accordingly, a large amount of ink can flow from the ink supply port into the joint portion of the printing machine.